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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

SMART intros new class of interactive whiteboard

CALGARY, CANADA: SMART Technologies has announced the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard, a next-generation series that will provide the most natural and intuitive user experience yet on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard.

The new 800 series extends the company's leading interactive whiteboard product line to offer true student collaboration. The SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard supports multiuser writing and common multitouch gestures currently recognized in Microsoft Windows 7 and Mac Snow Leopard.

SMART Notebook collaborative learning software will support certain features, such as freestyle interactions, touch gestures and full object awareness upon the release of SMART Notebook 10.7 software – expected by March 2011 – which will allow SMART Board 800 series users to take full advantage of gestures within SMART Notebook lesson activities.

Using SMART Notebook 10.7 software will enable freestyle interaction, where two students can work together on the same interactive lesson activity and perform different tasks simultaneously – such as writing with digital ink and manipulating digital objects – anywhere on the interactive whiteboard surface.

Multitouch SMART Notebook lesson activities, specifically-designed for use on the SMART Board 800 series and available through the SMART Exchange website (exchange.smarttech.com), enable enhanced collaboration, giving more students hands-on time at the interactive whiteboard. The 800 series – which includes the models 880 and 880i, and the widescreen 885, 885i and 885ix models – will begin shipping in North America on November 29, 2010 and globally on January 30, 2011.

SMART's own DViT (Digital Vision Touch) technology enables many of the features offered by the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard. DViT technology uses proprietary digital cameras and sophisticated software to recognize a finger touch, stylus, pointer or other object input on the interactive whiteboard surface.

The digital cameras are positioned in each corner of the interactive whiteboard frame, and communicate input information back to a digital signal processor to determine the exact point of contact. The SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard is the first touch-enabled front-projection interactive whiteboard to utilize DViT technology. The 800 series interactive whiteboard is part of SMART's broad range of education solutions that includes the SMART Document Camera, SMART Notebook Math Tools software, SMART Response interactive response system and more.

The SMART Board 600 series interactive whiteboard – the most popular interactive whiteboard in the world – will also continue to be available globally.

"Using the new SMART Board in our classrooms has made the teaching and learning experience much more engaging and interactive," says Clark Peters, Principal of Penhold School in Penhold, Alberta, Canada. "The new interactive whiteboards are so intuitive, more teachers and students are using them more often – teachers love the intuitive nature, the writing surface, and the seamless experience, while students are truly collaborating in their learning, which is very exciting."

"As educators around the world continue to make interactive technology solutions a part of their daily teaching and learning, they require easy-to-use tools that enhance the learning experience," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's CEO. "The innovative and intuitive features of the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard will help teachers make effective use of class time, engage in meaningful collaboration and motivate all types of learners."